OpenAI says it’s disabling ChatGPT suggestions that felt like ads

Watch OpenAI says it’s disabling ChatGPT suggestions that felt like ads - Rizzle on Dailymotion

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00:00OpenAI says it's disabling ChatGPT suggestions that felt like ads.

00:06If you felt like ChatGPT was suddenly trying to sell you a Peloton bike or gently nudge

00:10you toward a target shopping spree, you weren't alone.

00:13Some paying subscribers recently noticed what looked suspiciously like ads popping up during

00:17conversations and they were not happy about it.

00:20OpenAI leadership sprinting onto the internet, insisting the smoke alarm is just testing

00:25itself.

00:26OpenAI's chief research officer Mark Chen acknowledged things got a little messy, admitting

00:31the company fell short after users began posting screenshots of what looked like product plugs.

00:38He insists they weren't ads or even tests for ads, but rather recommendations for third-party

00:42apps built within the new ChatGPT platform announced in October.

00:47Or in other words, we're not selling you things, we're showing you things for science.

00:52Users, meanwhile, responded with skepticism levels normally reserved for airline pricing

00:56and crypto promises.

00:58One subscriber summed it up with a simple, iconic response.

01:02Bruh, don't insult your paying users.

01:05Nick Turley, head of ChatGPT, attempted damage control on Friday, writing, there are no live

01:10tests for ads, any screenshots you've seen are either not real or not ads.

01:15He added that if OpenAI ever does pursue real ads, they'll be thoughtful about it, a phrase

01:20that has now arguably entered the same category as, we're listening and your call is important

01:26to us.

01:27Chen took a more apologetic tone earlier in the day, saying the company had already shut

01:31off the feature while improving precision and exploring user controls.

01:36Hopefully, including a giant off switch labeled, no thanks, I just want ChatGPT to chat.

01:42All of this comes as former Meta and Instacart executive Fiji Simo, widely expected to shape

01:47OpenAI's ad strategy, settles in.

01:50Except now, thanks to a reported Sam Altman code-red memo, the company is shelving ad plans

01:55while focusing on improving ChatGPT's core experience.